9 Aug 1940
  • Hermann Göring believed Luftwaffe had control of the air having successfully attacked many convoys and excluded Royal Navy ships from the English Channel during daylight. Overestimated downed RAF planes and underestimated Luftwaffe losses further convinced him the RAF was almost beaten; in reality, RAF was stronger than a month ago, with losses (84 fighters) less that half the Luftwaffe's (227 aircraft). Göring ordered new tactics to destroy RAF's fighting capacity by attacking their airfields, control centers and radar. These tactics could not be put into effect, however, as cloudy weather allowed only reconnaissance patrols; 1 He 111 aircraft was shot down. At 1645 hours, R. D. Ritchie of No. 605 Squadron crashed his Hurricane fighter into the sea and died off Dunbar on the east coast of Scotland. ww2dbase [Battle of Britain | AC]
  • Orion was ordered to make rendezvous with supply ship Regensburg in the Marshall Islands. ww2dbase [Orion | CPC]
  • Heavy cruisers USS Wichita and USS Quincy arrived at Pernambuco, Brazil. ww2dbase [Quincy (New Orleans-class) | CPC]
  • Destroyers USS Walke and USS Wainwright departed Santos, Brazil for Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. ww2dbase [CPC]
  • The Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic was officially incorporated into the Soviet Union. ww2dbase [Annexation of the Baltic States | CPC]
  • Friederich Schumacher was named the civilian administrator of the Channel Islands. ww2dbase [CPC]
  • It was announced that British troops were to be withdrawn from Shanghai and North China. ww2dbase [AC]
Atlantic Ocean
  • German submarine U-30 sank Swedish merchant ship Canton 70 miles west of Ireland at 2032 hours; 16 were killed and 16 survived. Canton was carrying 7,900 tons of cargo (including iron) from India and South Africa to Britain. ww2dbase [First Happy Time | AC]
Mediterranean Sea
  • After sundown, Italian minelayer Scilla deployed 200 mines west of the Italian island of Pantelleria. ww2dbase [HM]
  • Italian torpedo boats Antares and Sagittario provided escort for minelaying vessels operating off of the Italian island of Pantelleria. ww2dbase [HM]
Panama Canal Zone
  • Gunboat USS Erie, with Rear Admiral H. Kent Hewitt aboard, departed from the Panama Canal Zone for Ecuador. ww2dbase [CPC]

Timeline Section Founder: Thomas Houlihan
Contributors: Alan Chanter, C. Peter Chen, Thomas Houlihan, Hugh Martyr, David Stubblebine
Special Thanks: Rory Curtis




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Camouflaged German 7.5 cm PaK 40 anti-tank gun, Russia, 1944




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Famous WW2 Quote
"No bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. You win the war by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country!"

George Patton, 31 May 1944